This gorgeous soup can be traced all the way back to the Old Testament. In Genesis 25:29-34 you can read how Jacob’s brother, Esau, sold his birthright as oldest son to his younger brother, merely for a bowl of Lentil Soup! So yes, this soup is truly delicious and comforting. Whether you should sell your birthright for it? Well, I will let you decide on that.

My mom and I love to make this soup with brown lentils, as they are stronger flavored and hold their shape after being cooked. You can blend the soup after it’s done, but for us it’s all about the texture. We use beef stock but feel free to use vegetarian or chicken stock instead. Extra yummy, if you serve the soup with homemade croutons and some fried curry onion rings as garnish.

Ingredients

For the soup:

2 tbsp. of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and finely chopped

350g (1½ cup) brown lentils, washed and drained

2L/8 cups Beef/Chicken/Vegetable stock

1 lime

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

For garnish:

1 tbsp. of olive oil

2 onions, sliced in rings

½ tsp. mild curry powder

6 slices of old bread

olive oil to drizzle over the croutons

garlic/garlic salt

Preparation

For the soup heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and gently fry without coloring for 10 minutes or until softened.

Then add the carrot, celery and leek, again gently fry without coloring. Add the lentils, mix all ingredients gently and pour in your stock. Bring to boil and once boiling reduce the heat, simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

When lentils are soft, stir in the cumin, lime, salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. or 350 degrees F. Slice each bread slice into cubes and sprinkle with olive oil and if you like, garlic or garlic salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cubes are dried. Keep an eye on them while bake to make sure they don’t burn.

When you are about to serve the soup, fry the onions in olive oil and season with curry powder. Pour the ready soup into the serving dish, add the fried onions, croutons and enjoy!